The world’s most prestigious drag race, the 61st annual Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, is unlike any other event on the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series circuit.
With the Traxxas Nitro Shootout taking place during the weekend, as well as five qualifying sessions and an increase of points via a return to the point-and-half system for the event, not only is the drama increased but so is the workload for all the stars in Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle.
With that in mind, former Top Fuel world champion Antron Brown knows he has to take a totally different mindset into venerable Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis when the Big Go kicks off on Sept. 2-7.
“You can’t treat it like another race,” Brown said. “The only thing that can groom you is past experiences there. With all the press, the Traxxas Shootout, everybody’s sponsor doing something special, all the fans coming out and packing the stands, it makes the stakes so much higher. You have to really pull together, get focused and leave nothing behind. It makes that testing before so important because you have to come out in a groove and have things dialed in. That’s what makes this event so big and special. Everybody prepares for this all year long.”
Richie Crampton (Top Fuel), Alexis DeJoria (Funny Car), Shane Gray (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle) were last year’s winners. Once again, ESPN and ESPN2 will provide national television coverage of the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals. The event, which has provided drag racing’s biggest stage for six decades, also serves as the final race of the NHRA regular season, giving drivers one last chance to qualify for the Mello Yello Countdown to the Championship playoffs.
It adds to the drama of a thrilling weekend and while Brown, who has four victories during another banner Top Fuel season in his 10,000-horsepower Matco Tools dragster, has firmly secured his spot in the NHRA playoffs, there is a Countdown-related goal he will take into Indy.
He sits just 53 points behind reigning world champion and teammate Tony Schumacher and Brown knows the importance of taking the points lead into the Countdown to the Championship.
“Finishing first in points gives you that extra 30-point lead (heading into the Countdown) and that’s huge,” Brown said. “We’re definitely shooting for that. We’re going to go and put our best foot forward. With how the points are at Indy this year, there’s even more emphasis on the race. There’s a chance you can move up several positions. There’s a lot at stake.”
Topping Schumacher at the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals will be difficult for anyone, including Brown, considering the eight-time world champion has an incredible nine victories in 11 final round appearances at the event. But Brown has never been shy about embracing the big moments and doing well in Indy certainly qualifies as that.
He has three career Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals wins, including one in Top Fuel, and has been strong throughout most of the 2015 season, going to six final rounds. With $100,000 on the line during the Traxxas Nitro Shootout, which takes place on Saturday in Top Fuel, the stakes are amplified in Indy, but Brown is confident his team, led by crew chiefs Brian Corradi and Mark Oswald, is motivated to put together a number of championship-level performances heading into the most important stretch of the season.
“I feel like we’re in a good spot and we’re where we need to be with our team,” said Brown, who has 51 career victories. “We’re second in points and have won four races, and we’ve had some really, really good races. At other races we’ve tried new things and we’ve been aggressive. We’re learning where the car needs to be. We’ve won in all conditions and that gives us confidence we can handle anything that comes at us.”
That means taking on a talented Top Fuel field that starts with “The Sarge” Schumacher and his famed U.S. Army dragster and also includes last year’s Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals winner Crampton, Mac Tools dragster pilot Doug Kalitta, Seattle winner J.R. Todd, five-time season runner-up and four-time Indy winner Larry Dixon and 2013 world champ Shawn Langdon, as well as Brittany Force, Steve Torrence, Clay Millican and Dave Connolly, who are all competing for the final Countdown playoff spots.
But Brown loves the vast history of the Chevrolet Performance U.S. Nationals, as well as the backdrop it provides for current stars to create or add to their own legacies at the highly popular, tradition-rich affair.
“I think what makes Indy so special is the history,” Brown said. “You go back to the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s and see how everybody comes from everywhere just to compete in this race. It’s the best of the best and it can absolutely make your season. You can go down in history if you win this. Winning Indy is a big deal.”
In Funny Car, DeJoria’s breakout season in 2014 was capped off by her thrilling win in Indy, and the talented driver is still searching for her first win of 2015 and is also trying to secure a Countdown playoff invitation. John Force, a 16-time world champion, is after his fifth win at the prestigious event, while the list standing in his way is impressive and includes Ron Capps, five-time season winner Jack Beckman, reigning world champion and current points leader Matt Hagan, Cruz Pedregon, Tommy Johnson Jr., Tim Wilkerson, Del Worsham, and three-time Indy winner Robert Hight.
Gray would love to get back-to-back Pro Stock wins at Indy, but four-time world champion Greg Anderson, who has won four races in 2015, is primed for a seventh Pro Stock win at the Big Go. Others to watch include reigning world champion Erica Enders, who also has four wins this season, Jason Line, Allen Johnson, Jonathan Gray, Chris McGaha, who won back-to-back races on the Western Swing to jump firmly into the championship picture, Vincent Nobile, rookie and local favorite Drew Skillman and two-time season winner Larry Morgan.
In Pro Stock Motorcycle, another Indy victory would add to Eddie Krawiec’s impressive season and secure the No. 1 spot heading into the Countdown to the Championship. He will face off against top challengers like reigning world champion Andrew Hines, Hector Arana Jr., Karen Stoffer, Jim Underdahl, two-time world champ and past Indy winner Matt Smith, 2009 Indy winner Hector Arana, multi-time Indy winners Angelle Sampey and Steve Johnson and alligator farmer Jerry Savoie.
Bonus bucks and bragging rights will be on the line for qualified drivers in Top Fuel and Funny Car as they battle in the lucrative Traxxas Nitro Shootout. The Traxxas Nitro Shootout for Top Fuel will be held on Saturday evening, while the Traxxas Nitro Shootout for Funny Car is contested Sunday afternoon. The winners in each Traxxas Nitro Shootout will earn $100,000. Prior to each Traxxas Nitro Shootout there will be a fan Q&A and autograph session conducted with all qualified drivers.
Drivers in the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and the NHRA Pro Mod Series also will take to the track during the weekend in their 250-mph machines with the goal of trying to win the prestigious event. The fan-favorite Mopar HEMI Challenge on Friday, featuring the world’s quickest Super Stock machines, will highlight the Lucas Oil Series action.
Thundering Jet Cars will take to the track to make exhibition passes as part of Friday and Saturday’s racing activities, and also on Friday, a special fireworks show will close out that day’s racing. Fan-favorite vintage racecars will be on display in the Hot Rod Junction, along with several autograph sessions featuring the biggest stars of the sport will be featured throughout each day of the event.
A special Monday edition of the SealMaster NHRA Track Walk also will take place prior to final eliminations, where many of the sport’s most celebrated drivers will walk alongside fans down the historic dragstrip. Also on Monday during pre-race ceremonies, fans will get to experience a very special treat when the famed Golden Knights, the U.S. Army’s highly-decorated parachute team, descends into Lucas Oil Raceway. As usual, one of the highlights of the spectacular pre-race show on Monday will feature highly-skilled skydiver Jason Peters soaring into Lucas Oil Raceway with an American Flag in tow during the traditional performance of the National Anthem.
As always, fans will have the opportunity to interact with their favorite drivers as they’re granted an exclusive pit pass to the most powerful and sensory-filled motorsports attraction on the planet. This unique opportunity in motorsports gives fans direct access to the teams, allowing them to see firsthand the highly-skilled mechanics service their hot rods between rounds, and get autographs from their favorite NHRA drivers.
